The Hawks and the Doves

In a forest, two kinds of birds competed for territory. Hawks fought aggressively for every resource. Doves yielded and shared.

When hawks were rare, they thrived — every encounter was with a dove that yielded. But as hawks multiplied, they kept meeting other hawks. Hawk-versus-hawk fights were brutal and costly.

Meanwhile, doves survived in the margins, quietly sharing with each other.

The forest settled into a ratio: enough hawks to deter pure dove strategy, enough doves to make the forest peaceful enough for all. Neither pure hawks nor pure doves dominated. The stable point was the mixture.